LONDON – On September 27th, a Singapore Airlines flight between San Francisco (SFO), United States and Singapore Changi (SIN), Singapore, was escorted by fighter jets to Changi following a bomb threat by a passenger onboard, saying there was a bomb in his hand luggage. The plane landed safely at Changi.
What Happened?
On a recent Singapore Airlines flight between San Francisco, California, and Singapore Changi, Singapore, a passenger reportedly made a bomb threat, leaving the A350 of Singapore Airlines to be escorted by fighter jets until landing at Singapore’s Changi International Airport (SIN).
The threat was made by a 37-year-old male passenger, with claims of his hand luggage contained an explosive device.
We have not yet found out which flight the threat happened on, but it is believed to have happened on one of the following flights:-
- SQ31 SFO-SIN
- SQ33 SFO-SIN
Arrested upon arrival
The 37-year-old male was arrested upon arrival after the threat was found to be false. The police continued their investigation further, finding no apparent explosive devices.
According to Singapore police, the passenger was restrained by flight attendants on board, after he was accused of assaulting cabin crew members.
The man was arrested under anti-terrorism measures and for suspected drug consumption, reports from Reuters said.
Not the first threat this year
The bomb threat on this Singapore Airlines flight is not the first bomb threat to any airline in general, this year.
Earlier this summer, videos emerged from an EasyJet flight bound for Menorca, Spain (MAH), after Spanish F-18s were recorded intercepting the aircraft.
The occurrence took place on EasyJet’s G-EZAO, an Airbus A319 en route from London Gatwick to Menorca, Spain.
The interception was reported to be because of a social media post, where an 18-year-old British male had alerted to a bomb threat on the flight, which eventually reached the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at Menorca.
The ATC team scrambled the Spanish Civil Guard, who sent their F-18 fighter aircraft to intercept and guide the EasyJet A319 to safety.
Upon arrival, the plane was directed to a separate area of the airport, where the local authorities and bomb disposal team were investigating the aircraft, with no result. The 18-year-old man was arrested shortly after.
Singapore Airlines’ Bad Luck
This is not the first news regarding an issue with a Singapore Airlines flight this month either, as just three weeks ago, a Singapore Airlines flight was diverted to Heydar Aliyev Int Airport (GYD) in Azerbaijani capital, Baku.
The flight, SQ333 between Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) and Singapore Changi (SIN), was forced to divert to Baku due to a technical issue, with further reasons remaining unknown.
The flight continued to Singapore Changi Int’l Airport the following day, without any further issues.
Overall
As bomb threats occur from time to time onboard airplanes, it’s still an uncomfortable case, whatever the airline. Although a lot of the threats remain a hoax, it’s good to see that no passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines flight were hurt, as these threats can turn out to be legit.
Singapore Airlines’ luck this month doesn’t really seem to be on top either, with two occurrences making news just this month. Hopefully, things will go a bit better for Singapore Airlines in the following months.
